Taken two weeks ago, looking West along the Herengracht in Amsterdam standing on the Vijzelstraat bridge, when the ice on the canals started thawing. When I took the picture I thought the lights would add something, now I think they are a dissonant element. The view can be breathtaking early in the morning when the direct sunlight picks up all the whites and beiges in the gables, but I’ve never had my camera with me at that hour.

You know how red clothes never seem to be able to keep their colour? And how you never seem to be able to remove red wine stains from anything? So here’s an idea: why don’t clothes manufacturers use red wine to colour their products red?

(No, I did not suddenly develop a taste for colouring clothes over the holidays. Yes, I dropped a bottle of red wine. Henceforth one half of my kitchen shall be known as the Red Zone, the other half as the White Zone.)